Promises
by Lady Sharp
Summary: She was a cool blanket in the heat of summer that wrapped around his being and held him close, comforted him when everything was testing him. She brought him back down from all the criticism, all the anger and backlash, all the sheer hatred that was hurled his way.


She was like mist.

She was a cool blanket in the heat of summer that wrapped around his being and held him close, comforted him when everything was testing him. She brought him back down from all the criticism, all the anger and backlash, all the sheer _hatred_ that was hurled his way. He wasn't the only one to receive it by any means – but if any of the X-Men were to take a vote as to who had it the worst, Kurt would have won by a landslide.

Having the gift of teleportation wasn't enough of a cross to bear – with that gift came the curse of deformed digits, blue fur that coated every inch of his body, and that tail that seemed to cause more harm than good. The stares he received from his peers didn't ease the feeling that had been consuming him like a fire as of late. His pointed ears picked up everything – every whisper, every scramble to the side, every hitch of breath and every snicker or gasp.

_Demon_, some would whisper.

_Freak of nature_, others muttered.

_Freak? Yes. But there is nothing natural about that blue fur._

_He looks like a science experiment gone wrong._

_Someone call animal control! He needs to be contained before he infects someone._

It had gotten to the point where the words almost didn't affect Kurt. They were like those pamphlets people would hand you as you walked down the street – almost as soon as they were in your hand, you had tossed them in the trash. That was what Kurt had been doing – tossing the insults, the ridicule – everything – in the trash.

But it didn't always work, and there would be days when he would teleport straight to the Institute after school and lock himself away in his room. The walls that he confided himself in provided a brief sanctuary, before the X-Men would take their turns trying to get him to come out. It always went in a routine order: Scott, then Jean, then Rogue.

It always ended with heavy sighs and footsteps falling away as Kurt resolved himself to sitting on his balcony, watching as the sun would set and the peach tones of the sky would be replaced by the inky blackness the night brought on. Tonight was no different.

Until the stars came out, and a familiar pair of footsteps approached him from behind.

He didn't jump. He didn't turn, he didn't sneer, he didn't yell at the person to go away and leave him there in his desolate thoughts. He didn't even tense, because he knew that presence almost as well as he knew himself. The sweet scent of lavender was a clear indicator, followed by the simple comfort that her presence brought.

He didn't care that she hadn't knocked. Had it been anyone else, he would have been quite irritated.

Then again, Kitty Pryde wasn't anyone else.

"You missed dinner." Her words flowed softly from pale pink lips as she rested her forearms on the railing of the balcony. She leaned forward, head tilted up as she looked at the night sky, stars reflected in her piercing blue eyes.

He could get lost so easily in those eyes.

"Ja," Kurt muttered after a moment of silence passed between them. "I vasn't very hungry."

The low grumble of his stomach betrayed his words. Normally, Kitty would have laughed, punched him lightly on the arm, bumped her hip against his… anything that would make the situation light.

But tonight there was only silence.

She broke it after what seemed like forever with the soft wave of her voice rolling across the supple air of the spring night. "You know, I'm really proud of you, Kurt."

He looked at her directly, his tail curling as he arched a brow. Kitty's eyes remained skyward, though her bangs acted as a curtain, partially obscuring her profile from him.

"It takes a lot of guts to do what you do every day" she continued. "What people say about us… it's hurtful. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, personally. But you…"

She paused, teeth sinking into her lower lip as she searched for the right words to express her next thought.

"You're a wonderful person, Kurt." She straightened, her hands now gently gripping the balcony as she averted her eyes from the stars to look ahead. "You're kind, and funny, and you wouldn't hurt a fly – and people don't realize it because they're too busy absorbed in their own prejudice to realize that you're one of the best people in Bayville."

Kurt snorted, his tail going limp as he leaned his cheek in his palm. "Ja, people either taunt me or are terrified of me – vhat a vonderful person I am."

"I mean it, Kurt."

The German turned, and she was staring directly at him this time. Her gaze stirred something inside, just as it always did, and he found himself transfixed as she held eye contact. Cerulean blue never left butterscotch gold as she stepped forward and took one deformed hand in both of hers.

"I understand what it feels like," Kitty spoke as she ran her fingers over the fur of his palm, the tingling sensation left behind one all too enticing, too comforting. "I don't have it has hard as you by any means – but I know what's going on. Sometimes, I want to shut myself away from the world and forget that I have the X gene. Forget that I'm judged on sight for being gifted with something that I never asked for. But there's nothing I can do to change who I am. There's nothing you can do to change who you are.

"I'm glad you can't," she continued. "Because the Kurt Wagner I know puts everyone before himself, even on his worst days. He's always cared for his friends and done everything he can to make them feel more comfortable about their mutation, and more at ease because of it. The Kurt Wagner I know made the Xavier Institute feel like home for me. When I thought I was alone, he showed me that I wasn't. He showed me that I had a strong support system there to back me up wherever I went – one that would always be there to catch me if I fell. He showed me that you can't understand a person just by looking at them, and he taught me patience and compassion."

His head was swimming and he hadn't noticed how close to him she had gotten until their chests brushed against each other. With uncertainty, his gaze bore into hers, and if he hadn't taken a long nap earlier that day, he would have thought what happened next was something of a dream.

Her heels left the ground as she stood on her toes, craning her neck so that she could reach his mouth with ease. Her head tilted to accommodate him as her eyes slowly shut, and her lips brushed over his in a sweet kiss. He almost couldn't help his tail gently wrapping around her slender waist, pulling her ever so slightly closer, and his eyes slowly opened when she had broken away from him for just a second.

"Please don't shut yourself away," Kitty murmured, and for the first time that night, Kurt detected the sad undertones in her words. Brushing her bangs out of her face, he brought one hand down to caress her chin, a small smile on his lips.

"I von't, Katzchen" he spoke, his lips pressing chastely against her own. "I promise."


End file.
